Election 2020 Today: Biden turns 78, Trump's legal ploy
Joe Biden has turned 78 and will enter office as the oldest president in U.S. history
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Here’s what’s happening Friday in Election 2020.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES:
BIRTHDAY TIME: President-elect Joe Biden turned 78 on Friday. In two months, he’ll take the reins of a politically fractured nation facing the worst public health crisis in a century, high unemployment and a reckoning on racial injustice As Biden wrestles with those issues, he will be attempting to accomplish another feat: demonstrating to Americans that age is but a number. Biden will enter office as the oldest president in the nation’s history.
LEGAL PLOY: President Donald Trump and his allies are taking increasingly frantic steps to subvert the results of the 2020 election, including summoning state legislators to the White House as part of a long-shot bid to overturn Biden’s victory. Trump also has called local election officials who are trying to rescind their certification votes in Michigan. His legal team has suggested that a judge order Pennsylvania to set aside the popular vote there. And his allies are pressuring county officials in Arizona to delay certifying vote tallies. Election law experts see this as the last, dying gasp of the Trump campaign and say there is no question Biden will walk into the Oval Office come January.
PROGRESSIVE PLAY: Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, leaders of the Democratic Party’s left wing, are at risk of being excluded from the senior ranks of Biden’s administration as the incoming president balances the demands of his party’s progressive base against the political realities of a narrowly divided Senate. The liberal New England senators remain interested in serving in Biden’s Cabinet, but even some of their allies recognize they face major political hurdles getting there.
WISCONSIN RECOUNT: Wisconsin’s election recount gets underway with scores of workers and high-speed ballot processing machines. The recount, requested and paid for by Trump, is aimed at undoing Biden’s victory in the key state by more than 20,600 votes. It’ll be held in Milwaukee and Dane counties, the state’s two biggest and most liberal counties that helped fuel Biden’s win. The recounts in two big convention centers are open to the public and will be livestreamed.
GEORGIA RECOUNT: A hand tally of ballots cast in Georgia for the presidential race has been completed, and it affirms Biden’s narrow lead over Trump, according to results released by the secretary of state’s office. The AP declared Biden the winner of Georgia and its 16 Electoral College votes after the hand count confirmed he leads Trump by roughly 12,000 votes out of nearly 5 million counted. The complete hand recount stemmed from an audit required by a new state law and wasn’t in response to any suspected problems with the state’s results or an official recount request.
QUOTABLE: “It is difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action by a sitting American President.” — Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah on Trump's legal attempts to overturn the election.
ICYMI:
Trump summons Michigan GOP leaders for extraordinary meeting
Biden says he’s decided on treasury secretary nomination
Biden chides Trump for lack of cooperation on vaccine
Native American votes helped secure Biden’s win in Arizona
___
Find AP’s full election coverage at APNews.com/Election2020.